Magnavox Odyssey 2 Gray Plug&Play TV Game (NTSC)

If you're a fan of "Classic" gaming and have never played the Odyssey2 console, you've missed out! If you had one as a youth, you know the allure of the system. While my friends and other family members were suffering through the game play of those "other" consoles (ie-Atari 2600 or Intellivision), I was gaming happily with my Odyssey.

The graphics are better. The sound effects are better. The Odyssey even came with a program that would allow you to program it like a computer AS WELL AS program the arcade games to allow for different mazes than the stock configuration.

The main draw back to the system was the lack of "Arcade Staples" that we would have seen in the arcades that were so popular at the time. While there is no "Pac-Man"....there is "KC Munchkin" and the sequel, "KC's Crazy Chase"...which are satisfying clones of Mr.Pac. There is no "Defender", but there was "Freedom Fighters!", which is BETTER than the "Defender" for the Atari, but not as good as the stand up arcade game. In that regard, NO consoles from the early 80's really stacked up to the full size arcade games anyway.

3 of them games also fell into a category of their own, far beyond "point and shoot". "The Quest for the Rings", "Conquest for the World" and "Wall Street" were a combination of video game and board game. A feat which NO OTHER console accomplished.

I bought this trying to recapture a small part of my youth, as my original console was sold off in a yard sale in the mid 90's. I was away at college and couldn't stop it. I eagerly awaited the delivery of my new unit and when it came, opening it up was like Christmas and I was 12 years old all over again!

A few of the drawbacks of the system:
There are less than 50 games made for the Odyssey2.
SOME of the games are tough to find, ie- RARE and EXPENSIVE
The 3 "Board-Video" games are hard to find complete.
IF you buy one without a power supply, it can be confusing trying to find a replacement, but it IS possible.

All in all, whether it's for nostalgia or not: this is a great system to own and play. I have the Atari, ColecoVision, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Genesis and several PlayStations. While I love playing all of those systems...I find the Odyssey experience to be more satisfying.

The other consoles are more popular, sure, but take out THIS system when your friends come over for some "classic" game play and watch as they (most likely) ask all wide-eyed, "What's THAT?". Then watch them as they figure it out....the Odyssey2 was amazing in its day, and it still stands up as a quality gaming console 35 years later.

Thanks to devotees of the system, there are "home brew" games being developed to this day. A search on the internet will point you in the direction of many Odyssey2 fan clubs, some of which offer NEW games by talented game programmers. The "unofficial" game count is now somewhere near 250.

If you're on the fence, go ahead and pick up the Odyssey2. If it's your first time playing, you'll be amazed that the system died out and didn't last long enough to evolve into the type of console that the Nintendo became. In some ways, that's a good thing!